Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a third-person, action-adventure game heavily inspired by the Assassin's Creed and Batman: Arkham series, developed by Monolith Games and published by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment for release on the PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One on September 30th, 2014. A downgraded port of the game released on November 18, 2014 for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, lacking a number of features including the game's signature Nemesis System. A sequel, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War was released in October, 2017. Gameplay Middle-Earth: Shadows of Mordor is built around a "freeflow" combat style, similar to the ones seen in Assassin's Creed or Batman: Arkham Asylum. The player can use a single attack button to move between large groups of enemies in crowds, striking each in a flowing combo, with a heavy emphasis on countering enemy attacks when one of the targets prepares to strike at the player, indicated with an overhead warning sign. In addition to this basic melee combat, the player is able to approach each combat encounter from any one of several possible methods, including stealth attacks, sabotage and open conflict with numerous controlled groups of enemies. In addition to his skills as a Ranger, the main character has access to the skills of a Wraith as well, increasing his number of abilities. The player is able to step into the "Wraith World", allowing them to observe the environment tactically, utilize several different powers, or spot targets, all in a special augmented vision inspired by the Assassin's Eagle Vision or Batman's Detective Mode. In combat, the player is able to use the Wraith powers as area-of-effect attacks, dashing attacks, and most importantly, to dominate the will of enemy orcs, making them subservient to the player- allowing you to turn the enemy's forces against them. The most unique part of Shadow of Mordor is the Nemesis System. Every enemy encountered in the game is a unique character with a name, personality and traits, and they persist in the open world. If the player is unable to kill them in their initial encounter, the enemy will remember the encounter and it will shape them for future encounters. An enemy that is able to kill the player will reappear later on having been given a promotion for their work, while an enemy you maimed will hold a grudge and seek vengeance against you later on. Plot A citizen of Gondor during the time in between the events of the Battle of the Five Armies and the War of the Ring during the Third Age of Middle-Earth, the ranger Talion and his family settle on the border of Gondor and the blighted orc-lands of Mordor. When the dark lord Sauron returns to power within the tower of Barad-Dur, it causes an escalation in the orc's savagery and daring as they prepare for inevitable war with the free peoples of Middle-Earth. With his family so close to their base of power, Talion inevitably finds himself a target, and his wife and child are slain by the orcs- leaving himself grievously wounded. Talion is soon revived, part Wraith, allowing him to take vengeance on the hordes of Mordor. Development Nearing the end of Monolith's development of Guardians of Middle-Earth, it was revealed that they were working on yet another Lord of the Rings project, and that this one would be a triple A console title. It was revealed officially for the first time as the December 2013 cover story for Game Informer Magazine, which revealed the first pieces of information about the plot and gameplay, primarily focused on the Nemesis System. The game received its first "trailer", a seven minute raw gameplay demo, released to the press in later January 2014, which revealed the gameplay mechanics and hinted further at the story in deeper context. Reception While there was overwhelming praise and excitement for the game at its reveal, the comparisons between the game and Assassin's Creed became significantly more poignant when a former lead developer on Assassin's Creed II, Charles Randall, revealed that at least some of the code for the game, the climbing aspects most egregiously, were directly taken assets from the Assassin's Creed series, claiming on his Twitter "Watch the video. That's AC2 stuff in there. Code/anim for sure." When another user claimed the battles bore more in common with Batman: Arkahm series than Assassins' Creed, Randall wrote, "I spent two years staring at AC2. I know it when I see it." Randall would later clarify he had no intention of seeking legal action of any kind, and that he was excited to play the game, he just hoped he and his team would be credited for their work. Neither Ubisoft nor Warner Bros. Interactive have offered comment either way on the subject. Category:Games Category:Action-Adventure Category:PC Releases Category:Playstation 3 Releases Category:Playstation 4 Releases Category:Xbox 360 Releases Category:Xbox One Releases